


It must have been love (but I fucked it up)

by NoctuaLusa



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bisexual Cedric Diggory, Bisexual Male Character, Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, During Canon, F/M, Gay Character, Hufflepuff, Hufflepuff Pride, Internalized Homophobia, Jealousy, M/M, Minor Cho Chang/Cedric Diggory, Mixtape, Podcast: Fanatical Fics and Where to Find Them, Quidditch, Song: It Must Have Been Love (Roxette), Songfic, Triwizard Tournament, Yule Ball (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:53:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24006178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoctuaLusa/pseuds/NoctuaLusa
Summary: Zach Smith is heartbroken and listening to a mixtape. "It must have been love" by Roxette is *not* helpful right now.
Relationships: Cedric Diggory/Zacharias Smith, Cho Chang/Cedric Diggory
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	It must have been love (but I fucked it up)

**Author's Note:**

> The prompts were:
> 
> Main Character: A Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw from Harry's year  
> Item: A cup of Tea  
> Plot Point: The characters listen to a muggle pop song  
> Max Words: 2,000  
> Min Words: 500

“It must have been love,” sang the Muggle woman, “but it’s over now. It must have been good, but I lost it somehow.”

It was over now, to be precise, because Zach Smith had fucked it up. Angrily, he wiped over his face. It was wet because of the steaming mug of tea, obviously. He was not crying, not at all.

But as Zach sat there, staring out onto the snowy backyard of his parents’ house, the Christmas lights outside reflected from his cheeks, he had to wipe his face again, a couple of times. Damned steamy tea, making his vision all blurry.

“It must have been love, but it’s over now”, the woman repeated. “From the moment we touched, ‘til the time had run out.”

Back in the beginning of autumn, everything had been fine. More than fine, actually. He had been practically floating through the castle, even though his attempt of getting into the Hufflepuff Quidditch team had not worked out because of the Triwizard Tournament replacing Quidditch for the year. But after seeing him fly, Cedric had laid his hand on Zach’s arm and told him that if he continued training, he would surely make it next year. And he, Cedric, would be more than happy to practice with him. Zach’s heart had tried bursting out of his chest.

“… and it’s a hard winter’s day, I dream away.”

He did, indeed, dream of how they _had_ practiced Quidditch in the following weeks. But some days, flying was more a bonus to be honest. Sometimes, they had spent more time kissing in the changing room, all tangled up in their robes, moaning softly into the thick folds of fabric, holding onto each other. Zach remembered feeling as if Cedric was the Snitch and keeping his hand firmly on the other wizard led to winning at least the House Cup if not the World Championship.

“It must have been love, but it’s over now,” the woman reminded him, without mercy.

If Zach had had his way, they would still meet there, in the changing room. But Cedric, Holy Hufflepuff Hero of All That Was Nice And Righteous, had to ask Zach to come to the Yule Ball with him.

“I don’t want to hide what I feel,” the true Hogwarts champion – Zach still _could_ not believe that this Harry Potter git got to compete in the tournament! – had said to him, his big brown eyes wide open. “Be my partner, share the opening dance with me. Please?”  
Zach had jerked away, staring at Cedric incredulously. “Are you mental?” he had blurted out. “Do you honestly believe, they” – he waved his hand in the vague direction of the castle – “would accept a poof as their champion?”   
Cedric had opened his mouth to answer. But then he had just swallowed, audibly, his eyes still wide. Their expression had changed.  
“Well, if you’re willing to make yourself the laughing stock of the wizarding world, I am not.” Zach had scoffed, folding his arms over his bare chest.

“I see”, Cedric had said, his voice perfectly calm. “If you think, this” – he had waved his hands between their naked bodies – “is something anyone should be ashamed of, we should stop right now.” And with these words, he had stood up, pulled his robes over his head and had went out of the changing room and, as much as it was possible when you are sharing a common room, out of Zach’s life.

“It was all that I wanted, now I'm living without,” the woman sang.

Man, it had hurt, back then. Being ignored like that, when there wasn’t much, he would have liked doing more than snogging the other boy senseless. Being pestered with questions by his friends all the time. “Are you not practicing with Cedric tonight? Isn’t it time for your training soon?” He had felt like exploding in Justin’s face, when the tosser didn’t shut up about it.

But all of that was almost okay compared to the revelation who Cedric had asked to be his partner for the Yule Ball in the end. Cho Chang, some Ravenclaw witch. Pretty talented Quidditch player, too. Better than Zach, in any case. He had been livid when he found out. He had even cornered Cedric in front of the Great Hall when the ball was about to start.

But the older boy had just shrugged. “I like her,” he had said coolly. “And unlike other people, I prefer not to hide who I like.” Then, he had gone back to this girl, who was patiently waiting for him in front of the doors, smiling and looking perfectly presentable as the partner of a champion. Zach had wanted to scream at her, at everyone around, that Cedric didn’t even like pussy. That he liked _him_ , Zach. But he would never embarrass himself like that, ever.

Instead, he had spent most of the ball sitting on the balcony of the Astronomy Tower, sulking, wallowing in self-pity. He _had_ seen the opening dance of the champions, though. And in his mind, the picture of a beaming witch, pressed against Cedric’s chest, kept spinning around and around even days later. The worst was the expression in Cedric’s face. Fond, loving. The way he had looked at Zach before. Maybe he _did_ like pussy after all.

“Yeah, it must have been love, but it’s over now”, the Muggle woman affirmed.

There, on the balcony, where scraps of songs by the Weird Sisters had wafted through the winter’s night, the ever-annoying Justin had found him, a small box in his hands. They had been trembling if Zach hadn’t been mistaken.   
“Erm,” Justin had said, his face a violent shade of red. “Er, I, I made this for you. Might help. I mean, it helps me and, um…”   
Zach had stared at him so coolly that Justin had practically fled from the balcony. They hadn’t even spoken the next day on their way back to London, aboard the Hogwarts Express. Zach was pretty sure that Justin had avoided him.

He had kept the present, though. And when he had opened it, it had contained some Muggle device and a small piece of parchment. “This is a walkman,” it had informed him. “I charmed it, so that it should still work in magic surroundings. Maybe not in Hogwarts, but probably at home. There’s a mixtape in it with my favourite Muggle songs inside. Just press the button with the triangle to listen. I hope you like them and I’m so looking forward to seeing you next year.”

“Must have been love, but it’s over now”, the woman sang one last time. Zach sniffed. Next year would be better, he promised himself. At least, he wouldn’t be crying over Cedric Fucking Diggory anymore. With a sigh, he put down his now empty mug and braced himself for the next songs to come.

**Author's Note:**

> In case you’re wondering: I strongly believe that the next song on this mixtape is “I want to know what love is” (Foreigner), because Justin is just that sappy. But I hope that Zach will ignore Justin’s romantic advances because not even Justin deserves to be punished with this git.
> 
> I'd love to read your thoughts about this. Also, let me know if there are any spelling/grammar mistakes in here, as English is not my first language. 
> 
> <3


End file.
